{clean} Carrot Cake

My husband's favorite cake is Carrot Cake. So when a friend of mine raved about a Carrot Cake recipe that she uses all the time, I had to take a look.  She wanted to see if I could {clean} it up. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too(without the guilt)?  Surely by now you know I love a good challenge.  I took that recipe and made it fit into my clean lifestyle.  It turned out delicious! 

As with any baking recipe I {clean} up, I don't try to go too far the first time around by removing all the fat, cholesterol, and sugar.  However, I managed to cut the sugar by more than half and the fat and cholesterol in this recipe had a major overhaul. Over the past year of {clean eating} I have learned that you can make things taste great and be great for you as well.  And not carry such guilt when you are asked "would you like a slice of cake?"!

 This cake turned out sweet, moist, and carrot-tastic! 

{clean} Carrot Cake

Reciped adapted from www.allrecipes.com


Ingredients:
CAKE:

• 2 {cage free/organic} eggs
• 4 {cage free/organic} egg whites or 1/3 cup egg white liquid
• 1 cup {organic} pure sugar cane (fine)
• 1 tsp {organic} stevia powder
• 2 tsp {pure} vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Barlean's coconut oil or 1/4 cup applesauce (I use chia seeds instead, see notes)
• 1 cup {all natural, no sugar added} applesauce
• 2 cup {organic} whole wheat pastry flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots

FROSTING:

• 8 oz 1/3 fat cream cheese (room temp)
• 1 cup {organic} powdered sugar (I get mine at TJ)
• 1 tsp {pure} vanilla extract
• 1 cup pecans (optional)

1). Preheat over to 350 degrees. Spray Canola Oil cooking spray over the inside of 9 x 13 pan.

2). In a large bowl beat together eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar, stevia, and vanilla until combined.

3). In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt,  and cinnamon.

4) Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet and blend with mixer until combined. Pour into pan.

5). Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before icing.

6) For frosting, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.

7) After cake has completely cooled you can add the icing.

NOTE: I prefer my carrot cake to chill in the fridge before serving so the cream cheese is nice and cool. I also sprinkled the cake with all naturally colored orange sugar (www.indiatree.com) and cinnamon. 

If you want to give Chia Seeds a try, you can add 1 Tbps to 1/4 cup of water, stir for a few minutes and let sit for 15 minutes until they become a gel and then add them to the wet. 

KID APPROVED??? YES!